$4.9M investment to expand overcrowded St. Thomas, Ont. school
Jeff Yurek, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London announced a $4.9-million investment from the province on Thursday.
It go toward building an addition at St. Anne’s Catholic Elementary school that will add 210 student spaces.
“This investment will provide choice and flexibility for families and new opportunities”
The project is part of a province-wide investment of more than $600 million to support new school and child care spaces recently announced by Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
The news was welcome for London Catholic District School Board Trustee Bill Hall.
“We're finally going to be able to get some of them out of those portables back there and into a school setting.”
There is no date set for when the expansion at St. Anne's will begin, but now that the funding is in place the board can begin the process to plan the project. Currently there are 14 portables on the site.
“Shocked that the portables that are there. I went to school here and it was St. Raphael's and that's where the original school was and...is supposed to be a playing field and which is now a portable field,” says Yurek.
He says there are more funding announcements coming for the London area soon, a stark contrast to just a few years ago when schools were being threatened with closure due to low enrolment numbers.
How they decide which schools should expand and by how much to meet future demand is tricky.
“There is a danger in the fact that you could guess wrong, but I think that really speaks to what occurred. What occurred in the Thames Valley District School Board when they're going to close schools previously,” says Yurek.
“I think it's very important that school boards really connect with local municipalities to get that that, that look of the land, to see what's what's going to be filled up and how it's going to be done. And then go from there. If there's a disconnect between the two, that's when you're gonna see issues arise.”
The addition to St. Anne’s will increase the capacity limits to 743 students, which will alleviate much of the portable use, but not eliminate it, as there are over 800 students currently enrolled at the school according to Hall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Some customers steaming after McDonald's ends free hot drink sticker program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When new leaders took over in ancient Maya, they didn't just bury the former royals. They burned their bodies in public
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Party's over: Coyotes play final game as Arizona franchise before move to Salt Lake City
Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the two years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah.